Humanitarian Aid

11 Key excerpts on "Humanitarian Aid"

• 

  eBook - ePub

  Love and Liberation

  Humanitarian Work in Ethiopia's Somali Region

  • Lauren Carruth(Author)
  • 2021(Publication Date)
  • Cornell University Press

    (Publisher)

  3 The strategic use of foreign humanitarian interventions for political gain is only possible, however, when relief agencies and governments can effectively disclaim their own self-interests and appear motivated solely by the desire to end suffering. Humanitarianism, accordingly, provides a benevolent cover and a rationale for many interventions into sovereign nations and communities facing crisis.

  Organizations that deny the political intents and effects of aid, and, at the same time, depend on the political savvy of local aid workers and the political support of donors, perform what James Ferguson calls “anti-politics.”4 Humanitarian intervention entails not a rejection or avoidance of political action by relief organizations, donors, and recipient governments, but rather, an external-facing denial of political intentions and effects in donor countries, in order to achieve strategic political ends.

  Relief operations in Ethiopia and elsewhere are thus integral to international, national, local politics—in part through the labor of front-line nongovernmental aid workers and their government partners. Aid earmarked for humanitarian crises bolsters various governmental missions and funds governmental staffs, bureaus, and initiatives. In Ethiopia during the last decade, humanitarian interventions supported the decentralization of health care, the improvement of local disaster preparedness and response mechanisms, and the provision of various public services like community-based primary health care to rural and pastoralist households. It contributed to the popularity, power, and cohesiveness of the Somali Regional National State, as well. As Doctor Hamza proudly proclaimed in chapter 1, after many years, the Somali Regional Health Bureau was finally “100% Somali,” despite the federal government’s strategic efforts since to place Amharic-speaking Ethiopians from within the ruling EPRDF and Prosperity Party into prominent posts. Ethnic and regional sovereignty, autonomy, and power have been realized, in large part in eastern Ethiopia through control of humanitarian funding and operations by regional governmental entities like the Somali Regional Health Bureau in Jigjiga.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - ePub

  Security and Development in Global Politics

  A Critical Comparison

  • Joanna Spear, Paul D. Williams, Joanna Spear, Paul D. Williams(Authors)
  • 2012(Publication Date)
  • Georgetown University Press

    (Publisher)

  Humanitarianism in Question: Politics, Power, Ethics (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2008); Fiona Terry, Condemned to Repeat? The Paradox of Humanitarian Action (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2002); Jeffrey D. Sachs, The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time (New York: Penguin, 2005); and William Easterly, The White Man’s Burden (New York: Penguin, 2008).

  14 . See J. Brian Atwood, M. Peter McPherson, and Andrew Natsios, “Arrested Development,” Foreign Affairs 87, no. 6 (2008): 123–32.

  15 . OECD, “United States (2006) DAC Peer Review: Main Findings and Recommendations,” accessed January 30, 2011, www.oecd.org/document/27/0,3343,en_2649_34603_37829787_1_1_1_1,00.html .

  16 . See Adele Harmer and Joanna Macrae, eds., “Beyond the Continuum: The Changing Role of Aid Policy in Protracted Crisis” (London: ODI Humanitarian Policy Group Research Report, 2004), www.odi.org.uk/resources/download/236.pdf .

   

  HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

  Editors’ Comments

  Joanna Spear and Paul D. Williams

  Although the security and development arenas broadly share a definition of humanitarian assistance, their ideas about what such assistance is for and the problem that it addresses are radically different. The development community conceives the importance of humanitarian assistance purely as a way to save lives and alleviate the suffering of those most in need. Moreover, such assistance is seen as a prior step to effective poverty reduction policies and longer-term development strategies. In contrast, security analysts and practitioners have tended to view humanitarian assistance instrumentally as an element in crafting desirable security outcomes. During the Cold War humanitarian assistance was a way to score points against the Soviets; today it is used to try and curry favor with the Muslim world and enhance counterinsurgency campaigns.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  The Politics of International Humanitarian Aid Operations

  • Eric A. Belgrad, Nitza Nachmias(Authors)
  • 1997(Publication Date)
  • Praeger

    (Publisher)

  PARTI Issues and Concepts in International Humanitarian Aid Operations This page intentionally left blank 1 The Politics of Humanitarian Aid ERIC A. BELGRAD The juxtaposition of the terms "politics" and "Humanitarian Aid" in the title of this book was hardly fortuitous. It was designed to reflect a fundamental dichot- omy characteristic of virtually all aid programs: The humanitarian impulse to relieve the suffering of the victims of war, famine, disease, or natural disasters tends to run counter to the self-serving motives that normally animate the pursuit of national interests. Indeed, the present work on the infusion of politics into Humanitarian Aid policies owes its inspiration to the pivotal fact that, since their inception at the close of World War I, Humanitarian Aid programs have been more or less driven by conflicting needs to reconcile charitable aims with prac- tical and self-interested constraints of politics. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS: HISTORICAL ORIGINS With the end of World War I, programs of humanitarian assistance based on the need to succor innocent victims of the conflict became a matter of concern to Allied political leaders. Because the extent of the suffering of World War I victims was unprecedented, private charities, which would have intervened in earlier times, could not command resources sufficient to alleviate the hunger and disease on the scale circumstances now dictated. The Wilson administration, driven by eleemosynary considerations worthy of the president's humane repu- tation, determined to put in place a massive rescue apparatus in those areas of Western Europe most ravaged by German war occupation. Belgium, whose vio- 4 Issues and Concepts lated neutrality and brutal occupation had been a central focus of Allied prop- aganda during the conflict, was identified early as most deserving of aid. Belgium, therefore, became the first beneficiary of a postwar American relief effort headed by Herbert Hoover.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  New Humanitarianism

  Britain and Sierra Leone, 1997-2003

  • T. Schümer(Author)
  • 2007(Publication Date)
  • Palgrave Macmillan

    (Publisher)

  1 The Politics of New H umani tarianism At the beginning of the twenty-first century, humanitarian emer- gency assistance has become a complex, dangerous and contested profession. Since the mid-1990s, emergency relief organizations have been criticized for being ineffective in providing sustainable help to those in need. Relief aid has proved insufficient to address the structural causes of armed conflict or bring about sustainable change for the people it was intended to help. This criticism is especially relevant in the light of relief organizations' inadequate performance in measuring the wider and longer-term impact of their actions. Donors and aid agencies alike have re-evaluated both policy and practice. Britain's New Labour Government has addressed both the alleged shortcomings and the potential role of humanitarian emer- gency assistance in tackling conflict and human rights abuses, first, by formulating its policy of 'New Humanitarianism', or 'wider relief', and later through its strong support for the reform of the interna- tional humanitarian system of the United Nations. The term 'New Humanitarianism' has been used inconsistently by diverse actors to denote: a number of different practices and object- ives. The British variant of New Humanitarianism extends beyond the immediate mandate of traditional humanitarian emergency assist- ance - to save life. It is intended to address the root causes of conflict, prevent the negative side effects of aid and support human rights. At the same time, Humanitarian Aid should avoid making the situation worse; for example, by inducing economic dependency or fuelling conflict. 1 It is this definition of the term we refer to for the remainder of this book. New Humanitarianism has also displayed elements of 1 2 New Humanitarianism coercion in the use of conditionality as a lever to induce political change within recipient societies. This practice has become known as 'humanitarian conditionality'.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Governing Disasters

  Engaging Local Populations in Humanitarian Relief

  • Shahla F. Ali(Author)
  • 2016(Publication Date)
  • Cambridge University Press

    (Publisher)

  88 In 1991, the UN General Assembly emphasized that humanitarian assistance should be provided “in accordance with the principles of humanity, neutrality and impartiality.” 89 Humanitarian assistance does not connote the use of mili- tary force. On the other hand, humanitarian intervention, in a legal sense, “is one form of foreign forcible intervention.” 90 As Reisman observes, the phrase “humanitarian intervention” is often used in reference to “military intervention conducted in order to provide urgent relief from serious and persistent human rights violations.” 91 Note that Article 2(4) of the UN Charter proscribes the “use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.” However, use of force is legally permissible if authorized by the Security Council on the basis of its powers under Articles 24 and 25, and Chapter VII of the Charter. The UN Charter does not expressly recognize “human- itarian intervention” as an exception to the prohibition of use of force in interstate relations. However, the right of humanitarian intervention is still often advo- cated by some states and scholars as a justification for intervention for human rights purposes in the absence of authorization by the UN Security Council. 92 As Kolb points out, if the subject state consents to an 88 Austrian Development Cooperation (2009), supra note 2. 89 United Nations General Assembly (1991), supra note 66. 90 Robert Kolb. (2003). Note on Humanitarian Intervention. International Review of the Red Cross. 85(849), 119–134, 119. 91 W. Michael Reisman. (1997). Hollow Victory: Humanitarian Intervention and Protection of Minorities. American Society of International Law Proceedings. 91, 431–435, 431. For similar definitions, see also Allen Buchanan. (2003). Reforming the International Law of Humanitarian Intervention.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Humanitarian Action

  Global, Regional and Domestic Legal Responses

  • Andrej Zwitter, Christopher K. Lamont, Hans-Joachim Heintze, Joost Herman(Authors)
  • 2014(Publication Date)
  • Cambridge University Press

    (Publisher)

  25 Joost Herman and Dennis Dijkzeul, ‘Current Challenges to Humanitarianism’, The Broker 24 (2010): 5. international law and humanitarian space 23 environments. 26 The Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Afghanistan (the Dutch, German and British for example) serve as a specimen, having been criticised for blurring the lines between political action and impar- tial aid completely. 27 For one of the biggest organisations this also holds true: the United Nations and its agencies like UNHCR, OCHA and UNICEF have also politicised during the 1990’s. Coming from a one-dimensional concept of peacekeeping in which consent of the warring parties, impartiality and minimalist interference were paramount, the great geopolitical changes of the early 1990s have encouraged United Nations member states to allow for much more robust United Nations operations; such as operations carried out in Yugoslavia, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In these operations, strongly aided and abetted by military force, politically motivated interference in deeply divided societies with conflict still raging has been increasingly the rule rather than the exception. 28 Like many of the other (non-)governmental organisations nevertheless, the humanitar- ian principles have been stressed as leading in any action taken. 29 Once more, this development of blurring the lines of distinction between actors and their principled (or less so) motivation to be present in humanitarian space, also necessitates fundamental thinking on its present-day nature, legal delineation, rules for access, and the level of purity of claimed humanitarian principles. Section 3 will address this development in greater detail.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Waging Humanitarian War

  The Ethics, Law, and Politics of Humanitarian Intervention

  • Eric A. Heinze(Author)
  • 2009(Publication Date)
  • SUNY Press

    (Publisher)

  Conceptual Concerns Humanitarian intervention is a subject about which there is much contro- versy and confusion. Military intervention comes in many forms, most of which are far from humanitarian, while international intervention by Humanitarian Aid organizations is the farthest thing imaginable from military force. Therefore, it is not surprising that humanitarian interven- tion is a term popularly used to designate a wide range of activities related to both armed conflict and alleviating human suffering in other countries. For this reason, it is imperative to be very clear about what this book investigates. The definition of humanitarian intervention used in this work is the use of military force by a state or group of states in the jurisdiction of another state, without its permission, for the primary purpose of halting or averting egregious abuse of people within that state that is being perpetrated or facilitated by the de facto authorities of that state. Introduction 7 While this definition is quite similar to many definitions of humani- tarian intervention found in the literature, some may nevertheless take issue with it, or even contest the use of the term “humanitarian inter- vention.” 17 A lengthy defense or explanation of each aspect of this definition is not intended, but a few areas of potential confusion deserve further clarification. First, humanitarian intervention involves the transboundary use of military force and is distinct from crossing borders to provide humani- tarian aid, which does not entail military force. Providing Humanitarian Aid involves actors crossing borders for purposes such as the delivery of food and medical relief to civilians or refugees, but does not entail a coer- cive aspect and is normally conducted with the consent of the target state.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - ePub

  Humanitarian Intervention and Conflict Resolution in West Africa

  From ECOMOG to ECOMIL

  • John M. Kabia(Author)
  • 2016(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  With the proliferation of violent conflicts, the breakdown of state authority and the emergence of militia groups that have no regard for international norms and human rights in Africa and elsewhere, post-Cold War conceptualisation of humanitarian intervention has expanded from its nascent task of protecting victims of human rights abuses by repressive regimes in foreign countries to providing security to threatened populations caught up in the complex political emergencies (CPEs) that have come to characterise the end of the Cold War. It has also expanded to include non-forcible tasks such as the distribution of emergency relief to ameliorate the suffering of victims, securing the humanitarian space necessary for effective operations of aid agencies, and facilitating conflict resolution and post-war peacebuilding to prevent a relapse into conflict. These expanded roles and expectations have however placed serious difficulties on the part of interveners as the cases of Somalia, Rwanda and Bosnia demonstrate.

  This chapter seeks to conceptualise humanitarian intervention in the post-Cold War era and examine the challenges it faces in today’s complex political emergencies and post 9/11 era. It argues in favour of the solidarist approach to humanitarian intervention and posits that the challenges posed by CPEs warrants the broadening of its remits to include both forcible and non-forcible strategies aimed at safeguarding civilians in the short term and building sustainable peace in the medium to long term. Starting with a working definition of the concept, we then trace the origin and evolution of humanitarian intervention. Next, a detailed analysis of complex political emergencies will be used to understand the challenges and difficulties facing interveners and form the basis for a reframing of the debate on humanitarian intervention in light of current realities. The next section will develop a framework for analysis in the entire book which will be followed by definition of terms and concepts.

  Humanitarian Intervention: A Working Definition

  Wil Verwey (1992, 114) provided what is now considered a classic definition of humanitarian intervention,

  the threat or use of force by a state or states abroad, for the sole purpose of preventing or putting a halt to a serious violation of fundamental human rights, in particular the right to life of persons, regardless of their nationality, such protection taking place neither upon authorisation by relevant organs of United Nations nor with permission by the legitimate government of the target state.

  Like other restrictionists’ view of the term, Verwey stressed that the motive of humanitarian intervention should be ‘solely’ humanitarian. This strict stipulation disqualifies any intervention as ‘humanitarian’ considering the political interests and processes that are also certain to be involved in practice. Solidarists like Wheeler (2000) and Teson (2003) object to this strict emphasis on motive as they argue that this approach ‘takes the intervening state as referent object for analysis rather than the victims who are rescued as a consequence of the use of force’ (Wheeler, 2000, 38). This however leads us to two very controversial debates within humanitarianism: what counts as humanitarian and the question of the universality of human rights. Despite the frequent use of the term, ‘a consistent and working definition of humanitarianism has evaded public and private authorities’ (Nicholls, 1987, 193). This has prompted Adam Roberts to ask ‘What on earth does humanitarian mean?’ (Roberts, 1993, 13). Ephraim Isaac defines humanitarianism as ‘a feeling of concern for and benevolence toward fellow human beings. It is a universal phenomenon manifested globally and through out the ages’ (Isaac, 1993, 13). Ramsbotham and Woodhouse (1996) link humanitarianism with international humanitarian law of armed conflict, international human rights law and emergency aid. But what level of humanitarian suffering requires outside intervention? Solidarists like Wheeler refer to a ‘supreme humanitarian emergency’ to describe a situation of extreme human suffering wherein ‘the only hope of saving lives depends on outsiders coming to the rescue’ (Wheeler, 2000, 34). However he admits there are no objective criteria for determining what counts as a ‘supreme humanitarian emergency’. This work will define humanitarian emergency to mean a situation of excessive violation of human rights by a repressive government or cases of uncontrolled anarchy and mass murder caused by conflict and/or state collapse.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Agency and Ethics

  The Politics of Military Intervention

  • Anthony F. Lang Jr.(Author)
  • 2012(Publication Date)
  • SUNY Press

    (Publisher)

  CHAPTER FIVE The Dilemma of Humanitarian Intervention INTRODUCTION T his book has been an attempt to explain the failure of intervention by means of a deductive analysis of the practice of intervention sup- ported through three case studies. This chapter uses the theoretical frame- work and the three case studies to move toward some alternative conceptions of Humanitarian Aid, political agency, and global politics. Specifically, I explore the dilemma of international humanitarianism; that is, the conflict between the recurrent need to provide aid in times of civil war and famine, and the inability of armed intervention to accomplish these aims without trampling the political rights and freedoms of those being aided. I conclude by returning to the works of Hans Morgenthau and Hannah Arendt which provide possibilities for some alternative notions of global politics. I began this book arguing that the failure of intervention can be under- stood by focusing on its normative and political aspects. This emphasis does not imply that strategic or economic reasons do not play a role in intervention; indeed I draw on a number of classical realist arguments in the construction of my theoretical framework. But the method employed here leads to the realization that intervention is not simply a defense of the national interest or the result of “power asymmetries” in the international system, but is, perhaps more importantly, an action designed to accomplish an ethical purpose (e.g., provide food to starving people, eradicate chaos, create a functioning government, enforce international norms). Simultane- ously, it is a political action that presents the state agent in a public forum. The three case studies all present failed interventions. They failed because of a clash of political presences, or a clash of state and nonstate 187 agents. That clash was either between the allies undertaking the action or between the intervenors and the target community.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Ethics and Crisis Management

  • Lina Svedin(Author)
  • 2007(Publication Date)
  • Information Age Publishing

    (Publisher)

  Accompanying this prime principle of humanitarianism are two narrower principles: neutrality and impartiality. These principles have also been recognized by the internation- al community and many nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) as foun- dational in humanitarian action (Good Humanitarian Donorship, 4 2003; General Assembly Resolution 46/182; 5 IFRC Code of Conduct 6 ). Neutrality means not taking sides in a conflict in operational terms, and impartial- ity means giving aid independently from religious as well as cultural and political opinions, thereby reflecting a principle of nondiscrimination. In conjunction with independence, in particular independence from national authorities, the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Cres- cent (ICRC)—one of the leading organizations in the field of humanitar- ian action and human rights—regards these principles as a prerequisite to accessing beneficiaries. This access is based on the trust of every party of the conflict that the ICRC will not shame or blame perpetrators of crime, thereby ensuring a humanitarian space of operational freedom and access to beneficiaries for humanitarian organizations (Thürer, 2007). However, present-day perspectives on humanitarian action have also incorporated human rights and have now formed a new rights-based ap- proach to Humanitarian Aid. In accordance with this approach, recipients of aid are not merely seen as needy victims, but as rights bearers and active stakeholders in the conduct of humanitarian action. This approach, sup- porters argue, will lead to accountability among the humanitarian actors. The development of the rights-based approach was the result of a call for the strengthening of participatory approaches involving local communities in giving aid, the increasing professionalization of aid work, and a need International Humanitarian Assistance  63 to hold humanitarians accountable for their actions (see Anderson, 1999; Slim, 2002b).

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Ethical Dimensions of the Foreign Policy of the European Union

  A Legal Appraisal

  • Urfan Khaliq(Author)
  • 2008(Publication Date)
  • Cambridge University Press

    (Publisher)

  Humanitarian Aid and the european union 437 The international community paid for improvements to ports and trans- port links to ease the movement of such assistance. Those same facilities were also being used by the warring factions to move their arms. Aid was also leading to population movements and a dependency upon aid. 136 The essential question in such circumstances is, should a population in distress be allowed to starve due to the fact that in the short to medium term the provision of assistance will lead to other negative conseq- uences? Essentially, is starvation a morally and ethically acceptable alternative? The danger of such conditionality becomes most acute where human- itarian aid is seen by European policy-makers, especially in the Council, as being a viable substitute for political action. 137 In such circumstan- ces, where foreign policy (in)action is effectively delegated to DG ECHO, this particular ‘human rights approach’, if it is used, can become pos- itively detrimental to the population in need. Such an approach is also in conflict with the Humanitarian Aid Regulation, which in its Preamble states: people in distress, victims of natural disasters, wars and outbreaks of fighting, or other comparable exceptional circumstances have a right to international humanitarian assistance where their own authorities prove unable to provide effective relief . . . Humanitarian Aid decisions must be taken . . . solely according to the victims’ needs and interests. 138 Notwithstanding the apparent conflict between impact conditionality and the 1996 Humanitarian Aid Regulation, such an approach is unlikely to be a violation of the legal obligations of the Member States under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. 139 Despite the fact that he was speaking in 2000, Barfod’s con- tention, that there have been relatively few, if any, examples of DG ECHO adopting this approach in practice, still holds true.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book